


Popcorn and Other Problems

by baseballandcupcakes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan - Freeform, F/M, Hockey AU, Work In Progress, because why not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-03-24 17:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3777007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baseballandcupcakes/pseuds/baseballandcupcakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Killian Jones is a hockey player with a heart of gold but a penchant for causing mischief, and Emma Swan is a fan who has no idea what she's gotten herself into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by my love for hockey, Captain Swan, and also a gif of someone losing their popcorn at a Bruins/Rangers game. I feel for that person. 
> 
> I have no idea how many chapters this will be, as it's definitely a work in progress. This chapter is a bit short, but it's more of a prologue than anything else. Here's to hoping it doesn't disappoint!

The first time Killian Jones sees her, it's half a second before he's thrown into the boards and the force of it knocks her popcorn off the edge where it had been sitting. He sees it explode in her lap, and the fierce scowl that adorns the blonde's pretty face, and instantly mouths a sorry to her before he is skating with everything he's got, chasing after the Blackhawks player that just checked him. He might accidentally use his stick to trip Robin Locksley, and when he's called for hooking he tries not to grin as he glides over to the penalty box. 

Robin is laughing at him, and the announcers are teasing him about getting revenge for her, showing a split screen of the blonde and himself on the jumbotron. Her scowl only deepens and he can't help the laugh that bubbles out of him. There's only three minutes left in the game, they're up by five, and his team has been dominating all night. His coach might rib him for it later, and so will Robin, but he knows this game is in the bag already, so a little goodnatured fun never hurt anyone. It's a pre-season game anyways, so it's not like it has any consequences were they to actually blow the lead (God help him if they did, he'd never hear the end of it). 

The poor girl's face is an alarming shade of pink, and he's quite sure if given the chance she'd throttle him for bringing attention to her. Before long the two minutes are up and Robin is shaking his fists at him playfully as he jumps back out on the ice. The next time Killian skates past her, he salutes her and she scowls again, but he can see the upturn of that beautiful mouth of hers, trying its best not to smile. They play out the last minute, and as the horn sounds his teammates swarm around him, smacking him in the head playfully. He laughs as Robin skates over too, and he's soon struggling with his friend who's suddenly got him in a headlock. His pleas for help are ignored by the refs who roll their eyes and skate right past him, knowing by now that the two are close friends and that this happens on a regular basis after games. By the time he's gotten free and turns to look for the blonde with the popcorn problem she's already left and Robin is laughing at the disappointed look on his face. 

“So, defending the fair maiden's honor were you? Looks as though she wasn't very impressed. Maybe next time mate.”

Killian pulls off his helmet as the two skate towards the benches. “No matter, Locksley, she had glass seats, and my money is that she's got season tickets. I'll see her again. Hopefully she'll be around for the first regular season game we play against you lot and I'll send her the biggest bag of popcorn they've got.” 

Robin throws his head back and laughs with his entire body. “Jones, that girl looked like she could kill you for getting her up on the jumbotron, what makes you think that she wouldn't toss that popcorn straight up over the glass at you?”

“A man can dream can't he?”


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was seriously not expecting the response I've gotten from this already. Thank you!   
> Also, as a side note, any mistakes you might see are my own, so please don't hesitate to point them out to me so I can fix them. Enjoy!

The second time Killian Jones sees her, the mysterious blonde, is at the season opener, on their own ice. As he expected, she's sitting in the same seat as before, looking every bit as stunning as she did the night of what has come to be known as the Great Popcorn Fiasco by his teammates and friends. She seems to be sitting with someone this time, and his heart drops a little at the way she leans towards him, whispering in the blonde man's ear. He launches across the ice, starting his warmups, and smiles at her as he passes her the first time, waving is gloved fingers in her direction. He figures that just acknowledging her isn't inappropriate if she has a boyfriend, and he catches the surprised look on her face as he skates away. 

“Oy, Jones, is that the same...”

“Don't even finish that sentence Scarlet,” Jones barks. His teammates have clearly already caught on and as Captain he has no problems with asserting his dominance over the rookie. He's gotten plenty of shit for the incident the past couple weeks from his teammates, and the media was eating it up like candy. He hopes at the very least that the media crew doesn't recognize her and put her back on the jumbotron today, otherwise the poor lass might never come back, and that would certainly throw a wrench in his previous plan with Locksley. She may have a boyfriend, but the media loves fan/player interaction, and the league never turns down good publicity. He convinces himself that it's nothing more than friendly and starts to do his laps. 

When the game finally starts Killian is playing far too hard to spare a second thought about the blonde woman with the glass seats and the popcorn problem. By the start of the second period he is sore all over, and ready to wring the neck of Christopher Walsh, the Penguin's player who seems to have it out for him tonight. Things become a lot clearer when he spots Walsh blow his same blonde woman a kiss, and she flips the pompous fuck off. His eyebrows nearly shoot into his hairline, and he could kiss her just to thank her for the stormy look she's put on the idiot's face. The two must know each other, and considering the hateful look on her face he surmises that whatever their relationship, it certainly hadn't ended on good terms. Walsh must have seen Killian's wave at her during warmups and decided he was out for blood tonight. 

The next face off Killian is paired with the annoying little twit himself, and when Walsh makes a comment about 'not even bothering with Emma, she's a shit lay anyways,' his teammates have to hold him back from ripping out the assholes throat. Killian might not know the lass, but no one deserves to be talked about like that. He vaguely registers that Walsh calls her Emma, and at least he knows the name of the woman he seems to be taking a beating for tonight. He highly doubts that Emma is subpar at anything, as Walsh is also known to lash out at anyone that stops him from getting what he wants (The idiot has been fined multiple times for less than stellar outings off the ice, many of which consist of his poor treatment of staff at various establishments). 

“What's wrong mate, can't handle the thought of a beautiful woman seeing you for the tosser you are?” he calls out at him, and August shakes him a bit as he drags Killian back towards their goal, preventing him from lashing out again. 

“What on earth has gotten into you Killian? You're the captain, and you should be setting the example, not pissing off the other team.”

“I know, I know. Walsh has been on my ass all night though, and it's really starting to piss me off Booth.”

“Don't let that asshole get to you, he's just mad that he can't play for shit. Now if you really want to get him, take the puck from his next time he's got it and jam it in the net. We need this.”

“Aye Aye skipper,” Killian jokes, saluting his second in charge, trying to lighten the mood. It works, and the two teams get back into the game quickly. Killian wastes zero time in stealing the puck from Walsh during the Penguins' next possession, sweeping down the ice so quickly that a single Pen can't catch up to him. He shoots the puck so hard that they have to stop play because they haven't the slightest clue where it's actually gone. Killian is skating around the back of the net, and spots it stuck in the crossbar, inside the net. He frantically points it out to the ref, who deems it a goal once they watch the replay. Killian's teammates are immediately swarming around him, nearly knocking him to the ice with the force of their hugs. They're up two goals to none now, and there's only ten minutes left in the game. If they can hang on to this and win, Killian decides at the very least he will find out who this Emma is and send her a thank you note for helping him wipe the ice with Christopher Walsh's face. 

And wiping the ice with the git, as well as his teammates, is exactly what they do. Will manages to score once, bringing the score to three to nothing, and they shut out the Penguins completely. He knows that completely dominating them during the season opener means that the Penguins will be gunning for them in their next meeting, but as the clock runs down the crowd roars around him, he can't bring himself to care in the slightest. After last year's disappointment in missing the playoffs, the fans, and the team, needed this. 

As he skates over towards the glass, he sees the girl, Emma, getting up to leave and watches as she follows the man she is with up the stairs. When she turns to go up he catches sight of the back of her jersey, an older one obviously since it has Robin Locksley's name at the top, from before he was traded away. His laugh echoes on the nearly empty ice as he hands his stick over the glass to a small boy that was sitting near their bench, and he follows his teammates to the locker room where August asks him what's got him laughing like a mad man.

"You remember the popcorn incident? Well the bloody woman was here again today, and the minx was wearing one of Locksley's old jerseys from when he was still here in Columbus."

August's eyebrows raise comically and Killian can't wipe the grin off his face.

"Well , she certainly has no problem giving you a taste of your own medicine Jones. You better watch out, you may have met your match," August quips, slapping Killian on the back as he stands up. 

"I certainly hope so mate."


	3. Chapter 2

The next morning Killian finds himself wandering the halls of the team's offices, and when he makes it to his friend Tink's office he sneaks up behind her, covering her eyes.

"Guess who love!"

"Killian! What are you doing here?"

"I need a favor from my favorite person in the whole world, Tink, can you help a guy out?"

"I don't know if I like the sound of this. What do you need?"

Killian pulls out a slip of paper with the seat numbers that Emma and her friend had been sitting in and hands it to her.  
"You're in charge of the season ticket holders, right? I need you to send a note to whoever the ticket holder for these seats is. And before you say anything, you don't have to tell me anything about her. I know her name is Emma but that's it. You can even read the note. It's nothing inappropriate."

Tink looks at him skeptically, but takes the paper from him anyways. "What's this all about Killian?" she asks as she taps away on her computer.

"You know the girl that Robin and I exploded popcorn all over during preseason? Well she was here again last night. And had the nerve to wear Locksley's old jersey. Not to mention she apparently knew Walsh, who saw me wave at her before the game and had it out for me all night. But I wanted to thank her for it because the look on Walsh's face when I took the puck from him and jammed it in their net after he started talking shit was so perfect. So I just want to send her a little note."

"You're lucky I like you Jones. Don't you dare tell a soul I did this for you. And give me the note, I'll send it to her. I'm not risking my job by giving her address to you."

"Of course love, I would never risk your livelihood," Killian says honestly. "Can I take you and your boyfriend out for dinner as a thanks?"

"You don't have to do that Killian!'

"I want to love, I swear."

"Ugh alright if you insist. How anyone deals with you is beyond me," she teases him and he laughs.

"You know you wouldn't have nearly as much fun if I wasn't around. But here's the note. I really do appreciate this love."

"Yeah yeah, go on get out of here and get to practice," she says, waving the envelope at him. "Just remember that you owe me Jones."

"Anything you want love. See you later Tink," he calls as he leaves the room. Killian heads down to the locker rooms to change for practice and pulls out his phone, checking the time before texting Robin about last nights turn of events. As Killian swings the door to the locker room open his phone lights up and he chuckles, Robin is calling him. “Hey mate, what's going on?”

“Jones, Jones, Jones. You are just asking for trouble aren't you, bothering this poor girl?”

“Oi! I am not! And she was teasing me just as much. You know whose jersey she wore to last night's game? Your Blue Jackets jersey you prat. The minx did it on purpose too, I know it.”

Robin's laugh echoed through the phone and Killian scoffed. “Killian, you've got it bad. You barely know anything about the lass.”

“Yeah, well. Listen mate, I can't do anything about it anyways. I'm pretty sure she's got a boyfriend. I just wanted to thank her. The look on Walsh's face when she flipped him off, god, it made my entire night.”

Robin snorted at that. “Yeah, well everyone in the league knows Walsh is a giant fucking asshole. So good for her. Listen mate, I've got to get Roland to school before practice, but call me later, alright?”

“Of course. Give the little monster a hug from his Uncle Killian. And say hello to Regina for me. Is she still hacked off at me about the remote control helicopter I got Roland for his birthday?”

“Mate she's still mad at me for even allowing it in the house. But I'll see if I can't butter her up for when you come in to town next week.”

Killian laughs but agrees, and the two hang up with promises to speak to each other later, and Killian gears up for practice. It's the same as always, and by the time they are winding down Killian wants nothing more than to take a nap. Unfortunately his coach has other ideas.

"Jones!"

  
The captain groans, but skates over to the bench where Coach is standing and takes a heavy seat on it. "What's up coach?"

"You guys look great out there. I'm going to let you leave practice a little early."

"Well thanks. But you never end practice early unless something else is going on, so what is it?"

"I knew there was a reason I made you captain. I got a call from Children's Hospital yesterday. They have some kids in serious need of cheering up. Management rounded up some gear, and I want you to pick out a couple of guys to go with you. And for the love of god, don't take Scarlet, he has zero filter. I don't need a call from the head nurse asking why all the kids in her wing suddenly have a much more colorful vocabulary."

Killian laughs heartily and hops over the boards back onto the ice. "No problem Coach. What time do they expect us?"

"It's 1 now, I have you scheduled for 2:30. That gives you a couple hours there before you need to be back here for the team meeting at 6. So pick out a couple guys and hit the showers."

"Thanks coach! See you at six. HEY YOU LOT, STICKS DOWN," he hollers at his team as he skates over. "Who wants to leave practice an hour early?" Nearly every hand raises and Killian laughs. "Well I can only take three. And not you Scarlet. Sorry. We're going to Children's Hospital and you have the mouth of a sailor, and no control over it. Sorry rookie."

Scarlet shrugs and leans on his stick as the rest of the team laughs. Killian pats him on the back and faces the rest of the men. "So I need three men. We're going to be handing out some gear, taking pictures, signing autographs, and the like. We'll be back here in time for the team meeting at six. I know most of you love going to the hospital to visit the kids, so anyone that doesn't go should talk to coach. I'm sure we can work something out. Now, how about the first three to the goal line and back get to join me?” A chorus of groans rose from the ice, along with the sound of sticks being thrown to the side, and Killian grinned at them. “What are you lot waiting for? GO!”

Killian glides over to center ice, watching as his teammates throw everything they have into the sprint, and when the first three cross the line he applauds. “Alright, good job everyone. August, Jefferson, and Graham, you're with me. The rest of you, hit the showers. Practice is over for everyone, I'm not actually going to make you lot finish practice alone. God knows what would happen with one of you in charge. Scarlet would probably end up swinging from the rafters. And don't get any ideas mate, I'll have you on skate sharpening duty for a month. Got it?”

They all nod their assent, including the mischievous rookie, and head towards the locker room while Killian keeps the other three back. “Alright you three, hurry up and shower. We aren't scheduled to be there until 2:30 but I'd like to get there earlier if we can so we have as much time as possible. Meet me out front at 1:45. You don't need to wear a suit, the kids won't give a damn what you're wearing. After I shower I'm going to talk to the PR people for a minute. Coach didn't say, but I imagine there will be a car to take us, but I just want to make sure that we don't have a million photographers coming.”

The four agree to meet out in the front of the building, and head to the showers. Killian showers as quickly as possible, toweling off his hair as he walks to his locker. He always keeps an extra pair of jeans and a clean jersey in his locker, and he pulls them on in a rush. He wants to have a few minutes with the PR people to get all of the details about today, and still get there early. As he heads down he runs into Ruby, the head of the PR department.

“Killian! I was just coming to look for you!”

“Aye lass, I was just coming to see you as well. I just wanted to run through all of the details about today.”

“Of course, let's walk towards the front gates. The car is picking you all up there. Now, you'll be visiting the kids who are waiting to go to surgery, are on long term waitlists for surgeries, or are in recovery. Many of them are waiting for transplants, and can't leave until they get one. There are about sixteen children all together, and all different ages. The youngest is five, the oldest just turned eighteen. You will have photographers with you,” Ruby continues, but Killian interrupts.

“Ruby, come on. Can we at least narrow it to one photographer? These kids are probably scared out of their mind already, we don't need to add to that by someone pushing cameras in their face.”

“Ugh, Killian, you're killing me here. You know how the media gobbles this up!”

“We're not doing this for the media's approval Ruby, and you know it. The guys like doing stuff like this because it makes our fans, and these kids, happy, not a bunch of stuffy old rich men that sit around and discuss what we're doing in our spare time. Please Rubes?”

“Alright, alright. I'll just send Belle with you. She'll be perfect for this, she loves working with kids.”

“Thank you Ruby. Now, what are we giving the kids? Because I feel like there's never enough. If any of the kids wants something that we don't have with us, can we send someone back to get it? Honestly, I'll pay for it myself if I have to.”

“You literally make me sick with how sweet you are. Honestly, I might throw up on your shoes.” Killian scowls at her but Ruby just laughs. “Don't worry, if any of the kids needs something, we'll take care of it. I'll be there as well, so just let me know and I can run back. As for what we've got already, we have bears for the smaller children, complete with little Blue Jackets sweatshirts. We've also got various jerseys in different sizes and players numbers, some hats, tshirts, and things like that.”

Killian pushes through the doors to the front of the arena and holds it open for Ruby, who follows him out. “What about hockey pucks, and a few sticks? Any autographed stuff?”

“We figured the four of you could sign stuff for them while you were there. Didn't think about the hockey sticks though. I'll run back and grab some. I'm driving separately anyways, with all of the stuff. Now, we also have tickets for everyone, but some of these kids won't be able to use theirs for some time. They're all open ended though, and won't expire.”

“Ruby, you're the best.”

“Well, I try. Now go on, you'll be meeting with the doctor before you talk to any of the kids. Just for a quick rundown on all the children, any thing you should know about them before you meet them. Now, get moving! I'll see you in twenty minutes, alright?”

“Aye!”

Killian climbs in the SUV waiting for him, where his teammates already sat, and watches Ruby as she struts back into the arena, phone to ear, undoubtedly telling the rest of the photographers they were no longer needed. Kilian turned to the others and swiped his hand through his hair.

“Alright, Ruby gave me a quick rundown of what is going on. Now listen, I know that management always gives us a load of stuff for these kids, but someone will probably end up not getting what they want. So if that happens to any of them, tell me. I'll come back and get it myself if I have to, but these kids need cheering up. A lot of them are waiting for transplants, and some of them are recovering from surgeries. When we get there, the doctor will be giving us any information we need to know about the kids before we meet them. And I talked Ruby into only letting one photographer come with us, Belle will be meeting us over there with Ruby.”

“Thank god. I hate when they follow us around like lost dogs. And these kids don't need that,” muttered Jefferson, and Killian nodded.

“That's what I told Ruby. They're probably scared enough as it is, they don't need a bunch of people flashing lights in their eyes incessantly.”

The four continue to talk about their plans on the short drive from the arena to the Children's Hospital, and when they arrived there's a hospital representative waiting for them. The woman quickly leads them into a meeting room, where they meet with Dr. Victor Whale, the one who had organized the entire event, who gave them a quick rundown of the children's names, ages, and how long each had been there. He also warns them that one of the little girls, Grace, may not want to talk to anyone, or be touched. When Killian asks if there is a reason, Dr. Whale shakes his head in disgust.

"I can't tell you everything because of doctor patient confidentiality, but she was brought here by ambulance after a severe abuse case in a foster home. She hasn't spoken much about it to anyone, except the woman who was here to catch the scum after they somehow managed to post bail, and then proceed to jump it. She's been back to check on her nearly every day, as well as one of the other patients, and she's the only one we can get Grace to speak to. So just don't be surprised if she ignores you."

Killian could see Jefferson's fists clenching, and he didn't blame him. Killian knew that Jefferson had grown up in a foster home before he was adopted at the age of six, so he could tell that it struck a nerve in the normally level headed man.

"Well we will try our best to cheer the lass up, as well as the other children, Doctor. Shall we?" he asked, motioning towards the door.

"Of course, of course." Dr. Whale stands and leads the small group out the door, and when they move into the wing that they were meant to be in, they immediately spot Ruby who has a whole rolling bin full of various items, including a few hockey sticks poking out the top. He has to bite his tongue when the doctor halts in his tracks to keep from laughing. He's not sure if it's the sheer amount of merchandise that they brought with them, or Ruby's stunning looks, but regardless Killian knows the doctor is not the first to be taken off guard by the stunning woman. Killian leaves Ruby to speak to the doctor with a sly smirk, and the four disperse, heading for separate rooms.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally part of the last chapter, but I decided to break it up into two parts. I couldn't wait to post it though, so here it is!

Killian's first stop is the on the younger side, a ten year old boy named Henry. When he enters the room he can tell that the boy is a Jackets fan, as his face immediately lights up in recognition.

"No way, this is not happening right now," the sandy haired boy breathes, and Killian laughs  
"I assure you mate, it is happening. How are you feeling?"

"Oh my god my friends are never going to believe this. I'm feeling fine, just waiting for them to give me the okay to go home. Had to get my gall bladder AND my appendix removed."

"How unfortunate. I can't say I've had the displeasure of that happening to me, but you look like you did just fine. Let's hope your luck doesn't rub off on me though, can't be missing games, can I?"

Henry shakes his head vehemently, and Killian chuckles. Henry's enthusiasm despite just having surgery is endless, and it makes Killian smile.

"I heard we shut out the Penguins in the first game of the season? I'm so mad I missed it. My mom and I have season tickets and she had been promising to take me to it for forever but I ended up here instead, and couldn't leave yesterday. I made her go still, and take my Uncle David so they could tell me all about it."

"Well lad, that was very selfless of you. More people should be like you. How about since you weren't able to go to that one, I give you three tickets to any game of the season? That way you can treat your mum and uncle to a game?”

"Wow, really?! Oh man, this is the greatest day of my life. Can I get an autograph? Or at least a picture?"

Killian laughs loudly and ruffles the child's hair. "I like you mate. You're in luck, because it just so happens that we've got a real photographer with us. Now, before I go get her, who's your favorite player?"

"Graham Humbert. He's one of the best goalies in the whole league!! But you're my second favorite player."

Killian cracks up and stands from his seat next to Henry's bed. "Henry, I am quite sure he'd be happy to hear that. I'll be back in two minutes, alright?"

"Sure thing Mr Jones!"

Killian ducks out of Henry's room and goes to the bin Ruby has, which is overflowing with items. "Lass, did you plan on clothing the entire hospital?" he asks , raising an eyebrow at her. She grins and shrugs her shoulders.

"Better to have too much, right? I can always take stuff back. Plus I thought if any of the parents were here they might like something as well."

"Good point love. Now, is there any order to this madness? I need a jersey with my name in a boys medium. And then a Humbert jersey in a boys large. Might as well give him his favorite to grow into. Where is Humbert anyways? You should send him into Henry's room next. Standing right there and the kid has the guts to tell me Humbert is his favorite over me," he says teasingly. Ruby snorts and agrees to send Graham in there next while she digs through the jerseys. After a minute she comes up with the requested items, and hands them to Killian.

"Two jerseys, as requested!"

"Thanks love!" Killian says, turning back towards Henry's room. He notices Belle lingering in the hallway and waves her over. "Hullo love, mind if I steal you for a moment? The first kid I picked is a huge fan and requested photos, mostly to prove to his friends that it actually happened, I think."

"Of course Killian!"

He pushes his way back into Henry's room, and grins at the wide eyed look on Henry's face at the items in his hand. "Now lad here are three tickets. Just give them to your mom and tell her she can call to request any game. And I just happened to have a jersey in your size, but I figured you might need another one that you can grow into. What do you think?” he asks, handing them over to the boy.

“I think I've died and gone to heaven. My mom is going to be so mad she missed this. She thinks you're _totally gorgeous_ ,” Henry mimics, rolling his eyes afterwards. “Girls are so gross.”

Both Belle and Killian are laughing now, and Killian sits on the bed next to Henry, putting an arm around his shoulder. “I think in a few years you'll have a very different opinion mate, but for now, that's probably for the best. And I'm sure your mother is beautiful, so tell her I said thank you for the compliment. Now smile for Belle, yeah?”

The camera clicks away, and after a few shots Belle comes over, showing the images to Henry. When Henry asks if they can mail him one, Killian pulls a small notebook out of his back pocket and asks Henry to write down his address. With promises to mail him a copy, and finally signing the boys jersey, Killian finally leaves the room, eager to move on to the next kid. He hopes that all of the children are as easy to please as Henry.

After a couple of hours he's gone through nearly all of the room, and given away a lot of stuff. When he reached the little girl's room that the doctor had mentioned, he was surprised to see Jefferson in there again, quietly talking to the girl as he sat on the edge of the bed. She was clutching on to one of the bears that Ruby had provided, but had a smile smile on her face. Killian knocked on the door frame gently, as not to scare the little girl. Her eyes shot to him nervously, but Jefferson seemed to calm her down considerably.

“Hullo little love. I hear your name is Grace. Is Jefferson here bothering you? Would you like me to put his silly self in time out?” Killian says jokingly, slowly approaching the girl's bed. He can see the bruises and scrapes across her body, and the cast on her tiny arm. His blood boils with the thought of what the poor girl endured, but her voice brings his attention back to her face.

“No! Please don't put Mr Jefferson in time out! I like him. He's nice. Did you know he was like me and didn't have any parents?”

Killian looks at his teammate briefly before returning his attention to her. “I did know that. I also know that he did find parents, when he was about the same age as you, so you shouldn't give up hope. Someone out there is going to love you very much. And until then, you can hang out with us, okay?”  
“Can you hit the monsters with your sticks if they try to get me?” she asks, and Killian grins at her.

“Of course we can. How about we even get you your own hockey stick?”

Grace looks at Jefferson, and then Killian, her startling blue eyes wide. “Really? Like, my very own? Is it okay to get two presents in one day? Jefferson already gave me a bear...” she says quietly, and Killian just wants to hug the poor thing.

“Grace, you can have what ever you want. We've got tickets for you too, so you can come see us at games. Would you like that?”

“Yes oh that sounds like fun! Mr Jefferson, will you be there too?”

Jefferson nods, trying not to laugh. “Yes, I'll be there. I'll be out on the ice, just like Killian. But the lady that came in and gave you the bear? She'll be there, and I bet she would sit with you if you asked her to.”

“Really? I like her. Her hair is a pretty color. It's so red!”

Killian sat down on the other side of Grace's bed and smiled gently at her. “I think she would like to sit with you very much Grace. So what do you say, will you come to a game?”

“I will! But who will take me? I can't go by myself. And...” Grace's eyes began to fill with tears and Killian shushed the poor girl, taking her hand in his, surprised when she doesn't pull away.

“Don't worry little love, we'll make sure you get there, I promise. Now, no more tears okay?” Grace sniffles, but nods her head and holds her bear closer. Killian's heart breaks at the site, and he stands up. “I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to grab that stick, just so you can have to to keep away the monsters.” Killian pops out of the room and rubs a hand through his hair nervously, before approaching Ruby. His heart hurts for the poor girl, and he wishes he could do more. Glad that there's still a couple hockey sticks left, he grabs it and pulls his sharpie out of his pocket, blocking out Grace's name in large letters on the handle. When he returns and shows it to the girl, he's convinced that she's going to cry again, but instead the little girl catches him off guard, throwing her little arms around him and squeezing.

By the time the group is ready to leave, they are all visibly happy, but also quiet. When they part ways with Ruby and head to the car, they immediately begin talking about ways that they can help the hospital more, and Killian tells them that they should write them all down and meet with someone, preferably Ruby, about it later. Jefferson is especially quiet though, and by the time they make it back to the arena, Killian is somewhat concerned. When Graham and August climb out of the car he waves at them to go ahead, pulling Jefferson to the side.  
“Hey mate, are you alright?”

“Yes. No? I don't know. I've never wanted kids, Killian. I thought I'd be a terrible parent, but every part of me wants to take that girl home and never let her go. She doesn't deserve any of what happened to her, and how did I get lucky enough to find parents who love me, but such a sweet little girl hasn't yet? I never even gave a thought to adopting, even though my parents adopted me. Is that crazy? I mean, I'm not even home half the year. But, Killian, I'm honestly thinking about it. Does that make me crazy?”

“That makes you sane. You are a kind, caring person Jefferson, and you'd only be crazy if didn't want to help a child that needs it. But if it's really something you're interested in, you should look into it. You would give that little girl a wonderful life, and even if you aren't home for half the year, I'm sure your parents would be thrilled to have another kid in the house. Especially a grandkid. Just a thought, mate.”

“You're right. I'm going to talk to them about it before I do anything. I know I'd be a bit different, being a single dad, but I want this. I want it so much. I'm gonna go make a few phone calls before the meeting, alright? Can you let coach know what's going on if I'm a few minutes late?”

“Of course. Just try not to be too late, yeah? We don't want Coach to have an aneurysm because everyone isn't there,” Killian says with a laugh. “I'll leave you to it then. See you in a bit.” Killian says, heading inside and towards the meeting room.

Killian is kind of surprised at how adamant Jefferson seems to be about this little girl, but he doesn't blame him one bit. The girl deserved a loving family, and Jefferson could give her that in spades, even if he wasn't necessarily ever planning on having kids. He wasn't even dating someone, so he'd have to do it alone, but he knew Jefferson's parents. Those two would welcome grandkids with open arms. They were at every home game, and traveled to many of the away games too. He gets a lot of shit from the team about it, but everyone knows that Jeff's parents would do the same for any of them, and they frequently host team game nights at the Meadows' beautiful home.

Shaking his head he steps into the meeting room. He mentions quietly to Coach that Jefferson is taking care of an important phone call and may be late before he takes his seat, so the coach doesn't waste any time getting started. By the time Jefferson comes in they've already started going over the strategies for tomorrow's game. He raises an eyebrow at the man, but Jefferson is immediately immersed in the meeting and Killian vows to talk to him afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know parts of this are probably unrealistic, but let's be real, it's a fictional story and I can magically rearrange a real hospital and do things one normally wouldn't so let's just pretend, alright?


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I accidentally wrote another chapter today.

It's nearly eight by the time they finish and the coach tells them all to go home and get some rest before tomorrows game. Killian stands up and catches his friend's eye. " Want to come back to my place and talk?" Killian asks, and Jefferson nods. The two grab their things and drive the short distance from the arena to Killian's downtown loft. When they get upstairs Killian drops his bag by the front door and heads to the fridge, pulling it open and grabbing a bottle of water. "Want one?"

"Yeah, please."

Killian grabs another and tosses it to his friend. "Alright mate. Spill. What's going on?"

"I talked to my parents. They said they would support me one hundred percent. They told me that if I choose to do it, they would agree to take care of her while I'm away, and would bring her to any away games with them. She would have her own room at my house obviously, but my parents said they would redo one of their spare bedrooms for her. God help me, I am really thinking about this. Do you think I'm crazy?" Jefferson asks, pacing around the room, running his hands through his hair. Killian stops him with a hand on Jefferson's shoulder.  
"Hey, I think you're one of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and playing with, and I think you're doing a very brave and selfless thing if you choose to go through with it. It might be a little crazy, but you're doing it for all the right reasons. And I'll vouch for you if coach gets on you about being late. I didn't tell him why before the meeting, I didn't think it was my place."  
"You know, you don't get nearly enough credit Killian. Everyone thinks you're this captain who doesn't take anything seriously and is constantly playing pranks, but our team sees how much you care and what you do for us, and I just want to thank you.”

Killian scratches behind his ear nervously, his cheeks coloring in embarrassment. “Thanks mate. I...well I don't rightly know what to say to that, other than thanks. I'm terrible at compliments.”

Jefferson chuckles and falls onto the giant overstuffed couch in the living room. “Well, get used to it. You're a professional hockey player for gods sake!” 

“Yeah yeah. I'll try,” he replies playfully, flipping the TV on and flopping down beside his teammate. “So, are you really going to do it then?”

Jefferson looks over at him and nods. “Yeah, I really think I am. I mean, obviously it's up to her caseworker, or whoever is in charge of the process, but I can't just not try, you know?”

“You'll be fine, Jefferson. They'd be mad to not give you the chance.” 

“Well, I should head home. I've got to call my lawyer tomorrow morning and find out how the hell to get all of this started. See you tomorrow at morning skate?”

“Yeah. Good luck mate. Just have hope, everything will turn out fine.”

“Thanks Killian. I'll let you know how things go.” Jefferson hoists himself up off the couch and Killian follows, locking the door behind him as he leaves. Before he has the chance to sit back down, is house phone rings and Killian groans before picking it up.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Jones? This is Leroy at the front desk. Some broad is here, demanding to see you. Want me to throw her out?”

Killian pulls the phone away from his ear for a moment, looking at it puzzled, before answering. “No, don't do that Leroy. Just send her up. Thanks.” 

“What ever you say, brother. She's on her way up. Good luck with that one.” Killian laughs and hangs up, only to be interrupted from his thoughts a few moments later by a vicious banging on his door. He cracks the door open, and nearly falls over when he sees who it is. 

“Lass, what are you doing here?”

“You might think that it's cute to stalk people, send notes to their houses, but it's not. And if you ever have the balls to track down my kid and try to use him the way you did today, I will personally remove your scrotum from your body and strangle you with it, do you understand me? How DARE you...” 

“Whoa, whoa love, calm down, I didn't do any of that! What in the blazes are you talking about? Your kid? And how did you get MY address?”

“It was in the damn note you sent you idiot!”   
Killian looks at this bundle of anger and fire and instantly realizes that his friend, the one he'd trusted to deliver the letter, as obviously pulled one over on him and laughs to himself. He's nearly knocked over by the force of the young blonde woman pushing him though, and sobers instantly. “Whoa there, no need to get physical now. Come inside, I can explain, I swear.”

“How the hell do I know you aren't a serial killer?”

“Even if I was love, Leroy knows you're up here, and he hates everyone, so he'd be the first to rat me out. Now come inside before neighbors appear. Please?” Emma Swan skirts past Killian, eyeing him suspiciously as he closes the door behind him, rubbing his hands over the scruff on his face. “Listen, I haven't the foggiest clue what kid you're talking about, and I don't know your address. My friend Tink is in charge of season ticket holders, and since you had glass seats, I took a wild guess that you probably had season tickets. I checked the seat numbers after you left, and had her look up the seats to see if they belonged to an Emma because...”

“Wait, how the hell do you know my name?!” 

“Because my that tosser Christopher Walsh saw me wave at you before yesterday's game and had it out for me all night. After you flipped him off he made a crass comment about you love, including your name. But as I was saying, I had my friend check the seats, and asked her if she would deliver or mail the note if it turned out that there was one. I didn't want to invade your privacy, or cause any trouble with your boyfriend, I genuinely just wanted to thank you, because the look on his face when you flipped him off was genius, and taking the puck from that self righteous ass and scoring was even better. But obviously, Tink added her own little note. Now what's this about your child?”

“Fucking Walsh. I'm going to kill him, she fumes, not stopping for a moment. “Imagine my surprise when after I find a note from you at my HOUSE I go to visit a child in the hospital, as well as my own kid, who is in the same wing, only to find that my boy has a Killian Jones jersey on, signed no less, and is chattering away about how cool you are and how nice you were. And then, after visiting my child, I go to visit the poor girl that I visit after I started handling her case, and she ALSO has a Blue Jackets Bear, a hockey stick, and is talking about how you gave it to her to keep away the bad guys?”

“Love, I swear on my life, I had no idea your child was in the hospital. My teammates and I were there because Coach asked us to, and we love visiting the children there. We know it brightens their day, even if it is all we can do. It was pure coincidence, I assure you. You can ask the Doctor, Whale, he was the one that scheduled us to come in, and since I am captain, my coach asked me to pick some men to go with me. I would never put an innocent child in harms way merely to talk to a taken woman, surely you don't think me that despicable?”

Emma's forehead furrows, but her face starts to soften after a moment, and she sighs. “Alright. I believe you. I'm pretty good at spotting a liar, and you don't seem to be one. But I swear to god, if I find out you are, I'll make good on my threats.”

“Understood. If you don't mind my asking, the little girl you spoke of, would it happen to be Grace?”

“Yes, why?” she bristles, and Killian holds his hands up in defense. “Hey, I'm just asking. She was the sweetest, and made a very large impression on one of my men. So much so in fact that he is looking into adopting the lass. He hated to see what had been done to her, and wants to give her the life she deserves. You must be the woman the doctor was speaking of that was chasing down her foster parents.”

Emma looks intensely surprised for a moment before taking on a cautious air. “Really? He's really doing that just because he visited her in the hospital once?”

“Aye. The little love made a giant impression on him. He hasn't stopped talking about it since. To be honest, I'm not sure if he even visited any of the other children while we were there. As a kid he was in and out of foster homes as well, until he was adopted by a lovely family, so I imagine Grace's room was his first stop once he found out about her, and he didn't leave.”

“I....well, I don't know what to say.” Emma cast her eyes downward and tugged on a strand of her hair. “I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Now I feel like a bitch.”

“No apologies necessary love, I can certainly see why you would jump to those conclusions, but I assure you, I have no ill intentions towards you, or your boy. And I wasn't trying to hit on you, either. I really did just want to thank you. And apologize for tossing all your popcorn to the floor during the preseason. ” 

“Who is this boyfriend you keep alluding to? I don't have a boyfriend.” 

“The man you were with last night, I just assumed...”

“Oh god, gross. No no no. That is my brother!”

Suddenly a devious smile creeps over his face, as he remembers the boy Henry's words this afternoon.   
“Your son's name wouldn't happen to be Henry, would it?”  
“Yeah, how did you know?”  
“Henry! I liked him. He's a cheeky lad. Had the nerve to tell me Humbert was his favorite player, over me. And from what recall, Henry mentioned something about how you would be sore that you missed me, because, and I quote, 'He is totally gorgeous.' Told me all about how he made you and his Uncle go to the game without him too.”

Emma's face turns bright red and she groans. “Oh my god, he didn't. Please tell me he did not say that. Okay, I'm totally leaving now,” she says, quickly heading for the door. 

“Lass, I'm sorry, I was just teasing! He did say that, but I promise I won't be offended if you think I'm totally gorgeous.” Emma tugs on the door handle and it swings open with a little more force than needed, and Killian laughs. “Lass please, don't be mad. I'm just teasing you a bit. I promise I'll stop.”

“Ugh, I should probably go anyways before I do something stupid. But thank you for clearing everything up. I am really sorry about what I said.”

Killian's eyebrows raise at her statement, but lets it slide. “Truce then,” he asks, holding out his hand for her to shake. 

“Truce,” she replies, and takes the offered shake. When Killian instead turns her hand over and kisses the back of it softly she huffs, her cheeks warming at the gesture. She slips out the door without another word and Killian shuts the door behind her, his face nearly cracking with the size of the grin on his face. He immediately turns to look for his cell phone, picking it up to call Robin. 

“Mate!” he exclaims as soon as the man answers. “You'll never believe what just happened.”

“Probably not, so why don't you just tell me?”

“That blonde that we talked about? She just came over to my apartment.”

“Killian Jones, do not tell me you slept with a taken woman. I don't want to hear it.”

Killian scoffs and has the decency to sound offended. “You really think I would do that? No! Gods, she came over because Tink put my address in the note. She was a real spitfire. Thought I was stalking her. Turns out her son was one of the children I visited in the hospital today too. She was madder than a hornet. Terrifying really. But once I explained things she explained that the man with her was her brother. And besides mate, we didn't even do anything. She yelled at me most of the time she was here.”

Robin's laughs echo through the phone, and Killian can't help but join in. It is a ridiculous situation, but one he wouldn't trade for anything. He talks to Robin some more before hanging up, and immediately heads for his room. The second he is in the doorway he strips off his clothes, tossing them in the basket in the closet and jumping into his soft bed. He hopes Emma, and possibly Henry, will be at tomorrow's game, and soon is drifting off to sleep, mind scattered and exhausted over today's events.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit later than I expected, but I've been hella busy at work and haven't had any time to write! But, this is our first glimpse into Emma's POV. Hooray!

Emma Swan absolutely refuses to believe that for some godforsaken reason, the Killian Jones has taken a liking to her. She was livid when she finished reading the note, hadn't even lingered on the emotion of fear, fear that he was a stalker or worse, but had gone headlong into furious mode. She may hunt people down for a living, but she only does what she has to. And the man certainly didn't have a good reason. She had only stopped for a moment to drop some paperwork off from work before she headed over to the hospital where she was going to visit Henry when she found the note. By the time she had arrived at the hospital she had cooled off some, but then she found her son asleep wearing a Killian Jones Blue Jackets jersey, with another jersey clutched in his hands.

Her frustrated yell may or may not be what wakes up her son, whose face brightens like the sun, immediately yammering away about how awesome today was. Emma did her best to sound interested, but was secretly plotting about twenty different ways she could kill the man. 

Henry, bless his little heart, was oblivious to it all at least, and after an hour or so she kissed him on the forehead, telling him it was bed time and that she would be back in the morning to check him out and take him home. Despite the boy's protests he is asleep within minutes, and Emma sneaks out, heading down the hall to Grace's room. She was surprised to find the girl still awake, grasping an adorable teddy bear tightly to her chest. Emma didn't even have time to say hello to the girl before Grace was chattering away like nothing had ever happened. Up until that point, it was hard even for Emma to get her to talk, but Grace told her all about how 'Mr Jefferson was just like her' and 'Mr Killian gsve her a hockey stick to keep away the bad guys, and that she wasn't as afraid now' and Emma wanted to scream. 

She was happy for the little girl, truly, but she wanted to wring Killian Jones' neck for daring to step foot into an innocent child's room to try to win her over. She didn't know at the time how he knew about Grace, but she sure as hell was set on finding out. After a promise to Grace that she was very close to re-catching the bad guys so they could never hurt her again Emma headed to her car, a singular destination in mind, and ready to raise hell.

So when Killian Jones effectively ruined every bit of her anger at him by actually having semi-decent excuses for his actions, and at least not lying to her about it, she has no idea what to do with all of her previous animosity. Granted, she's still slightly irritated with him for getting someone to look up her address, even if he hadn't gone there himself.

She sits in the garage under Killian's building for a moment, her face resting against the steering wheel, and struggles to keep her emotions in check. She went in there and verbally attacked him, and he was nothing but polite to her, and to be honest she has no idea how to process that. And judging by Henry and Grace's reactions, he is great with kids. She is well and truly fucked, and not in the good way, if she thinks that there was going to be any chance of ignoring Killian Jones now. He was as nice as Henry and Grace told her he was, and Ruby, god bless her, has been talking for years about what a good person he is, despite the ability the press has to make him look like an immature child. Ruby had always offered to introduce them, but after Walsh Emma had no desire to meet another hockey player that thought he was a god given gift to the planet, and always declined Ruby's offers.  
Instead of dwelling, she decides to throw herself into work, determined to put the filth that abused Grace back in jail after one of their filthy rich relatives helped post bail for them. They skipped bail, and that boils Emma's blood. She's grateful for the huge payout for this job is providing, (the judge had set bail for each of them at 500,000), but she was going to feel so much better when they were behind bars, because Grace would be safe. And if what Killian said is true, possibly even have a family. Taking a deep breath Emma turns on her car and pulls out of the garage. 

All she can do at the moment is focus on what she's best at, catching criminals. She knows she's lucky, to be so young and already be doing far better in her field of work than most could ever dream. She's damn good at what she does, and it's the reason that her boss tends to give her the most important, and best paying, jobs. She knows that the husband and wife she's been hunting for normally go to dinner at a certain restaurant downtown on Thursday nights, so Emma pulls onto the street, making her way towards it. She's been watching them for weeks, and she's counting on them to be arrogant enough to still make their weekly appearance, and when she arrives she isn't disappointed. They make her job so easy, sitting in full view by the windows, and she doesn't know how the police haven't already caught these two. When Emma goes inside she asks the hostess to discretely call the police's main line, and tell them that there are two criminals here with warrants for their arrest, and to send a squad car. She also apologizes in advance for any trouble that is caused, and the poor girl's eyes widen in response. She immediately goes off to grab the manager (and hopefully to do ask Emma asked), and Emma takes a quick look around. It's getting late, and luckily there aren't as many patrons here as it's still a week night. With her black pants and white shirt Emma nearly blends in, and she thanks whatever force above that fate seemed to be on her side. She strides towards the table where her targets are seated, looking as though she belongs on the staff. When she reaches their table she smiles politely, focusing her attention on the husband, knowing he is the most volatile, and unpredictable, and should be dealt with first. 

“Good evening Mr. Spencer, I hate to interrupt, but there seems to be an issue with your car. The valet was attempting to move it, and could not get it in gear. Could you please step outside with me for a moment to speak with him?”

“Oh for god's sake. The utter incompetence of you people. Alright, I'll come outside.” His wife stands to follow and he scoffs at her. “Emmaline, stay here woman. If the waiter comes by get me a glass of white wine. I'll return shortly, and I expect the food to have arrived.”

Emma has to squash the intense urge to roll her eyes at him, and leads the way to the front door. Only once she's in the small entranceway, away from prying eyes and ears, does she speak again. “Sir, the valet will be here momentarily. He seems to have figured out the problem. I didn't want to cause a scene in the restaurant, but it seems that someone put a boot on your car.”

“Excuse me?”

Emma can see him pale a bit, and fights the smirk that's forming on her face, even as he gathers his wits and his cocky attitude returns.

“Perhaps if your incompetent valet had not parked it illegally, this would never have happened. I expect a full payment for this. And I want his name and employee ID number. I will have his job for this.”

“Or, sir, perhaps you shouldn't have beat on a small child that was entrusted to your care.” Emma could see the moment the recognition of the situation hit him, and she didn't even bother resisting the smirk that was forming. 

“Who the hell are you?” he hissed, encroaching on her personal space, getting in her face. Emma rolled her eyes and reached for the handcuffs tucked in her waistband. 

“I am the one that's getting paid to haul your ass back to jail, since you didn't bother showing up to your court date. Now, we can do this quietly and not make a scene in your favorite restaurant, or we can do it the hard way and let everyone know what kind of filthy trash human being you are. Your choice buddy.” Emma saw the hand coming a mile away, and nearly laughed. He may be able to hit children, but she is a full grown woman with plenty of self defense training, and she doesn't feel a single ounce of regret when she grabs is arm, twisting it hard enough that he turns, and she shoves him into the wall. “Now see, you trying to hit me doesn't surprise me at all. Anything else you'd like to try?” shes asks as she slaps the cuff over one wrist and tightens it. “I'd be more than happy to press charges, and some more counts to your growing repertoire. Really, please,” Emma goads him, and he struggles as she cuffs the other wrist. She sees flashing lights coming down the street and grins. “Ah yes. Here's your car now, Mr. Spencer. I suggest you don't let anyone in jail find out that you beat on children. They don't particularly like your kind.” 

Emma walks the man outside, hoping that his wife Emmaline hasn't spotted them yet, and shoves him to a sitting position on a bench. She let's a police office take over when they hop out of the car, explaining who exactly the man is, and tells them that she will be out shortly with the second. When she heads back inside she puts on her smile again, and sees that is wife is still sitting, albeit fidgeting nervously, as Emma strides up to the table.

“Ma'am? Can you please come with me? There was a problem between your husband and the valet driver, and the police have been called. I thought you might want to come outside and talk to him before they show up.”

“Oh dear, no, I'll just wait here, I haven't the stomach for violence. Albert can handle himself,” Emmaline says, her hands twisting her napkin obsessively. 

“Oh no, really, I insist. You really should join him outside.”

“As I said dear, I would much rather stay inside.”

Emma grits her teeth and glares at the woman, who is taken aback by Emma's swift change in demeanor. “I'm sure you would rather stay inside. But you are going to go outside and join your husband in jail. Because according to a six year old girl that's currently still in the hospital, you have plenty of taste for violence, and skipping bail too apparently. Now, I can give you the same choice I gave your husband. We can leave quietly, or I can drag you out of here kicking and screaming. Either way you're going to jail. But I suggest you not try to hit me like your husband did. You're much smaller than he is, and I had no problem handling him.”

“You little bitch, how dare you!” 

“Alright lady. Let's go. I've had enough.” Emma grabs the woman under the armpit and forces her up out of her chair. The woman looks frail, but as soon as Emma has her standing she starts flailing wildly, catching Emma in the side of the face with her talon like nails. Emma immediately stills, glaring at the woman with such a ferocity that she stops clawing at her and Emma takes a deep breath. “Congratulations. Now you've added assault to the charges you're already facing. Now, I'm going to cuff you, and you're going to walk out of here with me, or I'm going to throw you down and drag you out of here. Got me?”

Emmaline Spencer's body slumps, her posture reflecting her defeat, and she allows herself to be led from the restaurant, into the waiting police car. Emma stops to talk to one of the oficers, giving her statement about what happened to her face, and calling her boss to let her know that they are in custody. She hangs up and rubs her face, wincing when she scrapes over the cuts she received, and resolves to going home to clean them and hopefully get some sleep before she has to pick up Henry tomorrow morning at the hospital.

Emma walks back to her car and hops in, making her way home. When she arrives she unlocks the door to the condo she shares with her son and goes to the bathroom. She groans when she looks in the mirror at the three glaring red scratches across her left cheek and knows Henry will have some words about it. The boy hates when she gets hurt while working. Grabbing a cotton ball and hydrogen peroxide she cleans them quickly and applies Neosporin, and then sheds her clothes before climbing straight into bed, too tired and emotionally exhausted to even bother putting pajamas on. 

She's nearly asleep too when her phone starts blaring loudly, startling her from her almost sleep and causing her to groan. 

“What?” she says moodily into the phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID. 

“Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?”

Emma groans and rolls over. “Sorry Elsa. I'm just exhausted from today. And I was almost asleep when you called. What's up? Everything go okay with the skips?”

“Of course girl. Why do you think that I give you the best jobs? You're the only one that can do your job halfway decently, I know you aren't going to screw it all up. I was just calling to let you know that your checks will be ready to pickup tomorrow morning. You really made out on this one, didn't you?”

“Well, thanks for giving me the case in the first place. I think I'm going to take Henry on vacation for a couple weeks. He deserves it after having to stay in the hospital for a couple days.” 

“Oh, he'll love that. How is he doing anyway?”

“He's fine. Better since he got a visit from his two favorite hockey players today.”

“No way!” Emma's boss exclaims, and Emma hums a sound of approval.  
“Yeah, It's a long story though, and I'm exhausted. Can I tell you about it when I come to pick up my checks tomorrow?”

“Of course lovely. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early. Now go back to sleep you grump.” 

Emma laughs and says her goodbyes before hanging up and burrowing back under her comforter, dead set on getting at least eight hours of sleep after today's fiascos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments warm the cockles of my black soulless heart. Keep them coming!


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter from Emma's POV, and sort of a filler chapter before the important stuff. Don't worry, Killian will be in the next chapter!

At 7am Emma rolls over groggily, her arm shooting out from under her covers to turn off her alarm, which was going off incessantly. When she realizes it's not turning off, she rolls back over and fumbles for her phone. 

“Hello?” she mumbles, still half asleep.

“Mom! Why aren't you awake yet? They're releasing me today! When are you coming to get me?”

“Henry?”

“Do you have any other sons in the hospital that I don't know about?”

Emma snorts and rubs her eyes wearily. “Just you kid. Will you survive for two more hours? I've got to run by work and pick up my checks from Elsa from the people I turned in last night. And then me and you are going to decide where we want to go on vacation before we go to the Jackets game tonight. Sound like a plan?”

Henry sighs loudly and Emma almost laughs. “Vacation? Man you must have caught someone awful. Alright. I guess I can wait that long mom. See you in two hours then?”

“Absolutely kid. I'll see you soon.” 

“Love you mom!” 

“Love you too kid.” Emma hangs up and rolls out of bed. So much for sleeping in, she thinks, chuckling to herself. She throws on a pair of leggings and her very own Killian Jones jersey (She may not have wanted to date him before she met him, but she couldn't deny the fact that he was a great hockey player. And to be honest she only wore the Locksley jersey opening night to annoy him) and braids her hair quickly before she grabs her keys and sunglasses and goes. She knows she has to hurry if she is going to tell Elsa about the hockey players, and the last twenty four hours in general, before she has to go and pick up Henry. When she pulls into the parking lot Elsa is just unlocking the front door, and waves at her. 

“Emma! You're here bright and early. I figured you wouldn't be here for at least another hour.”

“Yes, well I have a very impatient son who is ready to be free from the hospital. He called me at 7am, asking me when I was coming to pick him up. I figured I'd come by and pick up my checks before I went to go pick him up, and then he could help me decide where we are going to go on vacation.”

“I'm glad you caught those foul people. How has the little girl been? I know you told me she was in the same hospital ward as Henry.”

“She's getting better. I saw her while I was there yesterday and she was just as excited about the Blue Jackets players being there as Henry was. I've never heard her talk so much.”

“Ah yes, what happened with that? You sounded a little irritated on the phone.”

“Ugh. So, you know how I went to the pre-season game and Killian Jones got slammed into the boards by Robin Locksley right in front of me and my popcorn exploded everywhere? Well he saw me again during the first game of the season. Which I figured he would, I've got glass seats, so I wore my Locksley jersey just to annoy him, and he was waving at me, and him and fucking Walsh got into it and I flipped off Walsh. So afterwards he apparently went to the person in charge of season ticket holders and got them to deliver a note to say thank you for pissing off Walsh.” 

“That's kind of creepy, isn't it?”

“Right?! Well, he didn't actually go there himself. He didn't even ask for the address, he just gave the note to his friend and let them do it. Which is still sort of creepy but whatever. It was sort of cute once I realized he wasn't actually stalking me, and his friend wrote Jones' address on the note in retaliation. And it turns out he just so happened to be visiting Children's and had talked to both Henry and Grace. They were both over the moon. I honest to god thought he had somehow found out and went there to try to talk to Henry about me and was stalking us, but he had no idea until I stormed over to his place and yelled at him.”

“Oh my god, Emma, you didn't!” 

“Oh, I did. I actually feel like a total bitch about it too. The hospital visit was organized by the team, he didn't even know I had a son until I mentioned him, and he admitted that he wasn't even trying to hit on me by sending me that note, he thought David was my boyfriend, he was legitimately trying to just say thank you. He's so polite and sweet that it honestly makes me want to puke.” 

Elsa laughs at her friend and shakes her head. “How do you always end up in ridiculous situations like this?” 

“Elsa, I wish I had an answer for that. Henry and I are going to the game tonight too and I wore his jersey since my other one is dirty. If he notices he's going to be inordinately pleased with himself, I know it. I swear I'm going to end up hitting him in his pretty face.”

“Oh lord. Please don't. I don't want to bail my best bounty hunter out of jail. Honestly woman.” 

Emma laughs and takes the checks off her desk, stashing them in her purse. “Alright. I'll try my best not to. No promises though.” 

“Alright. Well go get Henry, and give him a hug for me. I'm glad he's feeling better. See you tomorrow?”

Emma agrees and heads back to her car, pulling her sunglasses off her head and putting them on. It's a beautiful day, and Emma is ecstatic that Henry can finally come home after four days in the hospital. She makes a quick stop at the bank and deposits her checks, and then heads to the hospital. When she arrives she quickly makes her way to his room to find her son fully dressed and driving the nurses crazy by the nurse station. 

“Henry! You ready to get out of here?”

“Mom!” her son exclaims, rushing at her and hugging her around the middle. 

“Ms Swan, your son is more than ready to go home. All you need to do is sign his release papers and he's free to go,” says the nurse closest to her., and Emma grins. 

“Have you been bothering these poor ladies Henry?”

“No! Of course not!” 

The nurses giggle and Henry pouts, but Emma just laughs at her son while signing the paperwork the nurses handed to her. “Henry, go grab your things out of your room, okay?”

“Okay!” Henry agrees, and trots off to grab his bag (already packed and ready to go of course), and Emma thanks the nurses for taking such great care of him. Once all of the paperwork is signed and dealt with, Emma tells Henry to say thank you to the nurses as well, and Henry runs over to hug them. 

Afterwards they head to little Grace's room, only to find that she already has a visitor. She knocks on the doorframe, and is surprised to see the person sitting beside the girl's bed is one of the Blue Jackets players, Jefferson Clarke. She remembers what Jones said about one of his men, and assumes this is the man he must have been speaking of. Jefferson look weary of her, but when Grace's face lights up the man visibly relaxes.

“Hi Gracie! Guess what little lady? The bad guys? They're behind bars. And they're not ever going to bother you again.”

“Really?” the little girl asks in a small voice. 

“Yep. You'll have to see them again in court, but there will be lots of people there to protect you, and you won't have to talk to them if you don't want to, okay?”

“Promise?”

“I promise Grace. I'll even be there if you want me to, okay?”

“Okay. Have you met Mr. Jefferson? He's real nice. I like him.”

Emma smiles at the man sitting beside her bed, who is nervously running his hands through his hair. He gets up and shakes her hand, thanking her for what she's done for the little girl. Emma tells Henry to talk to Grace for a few minutes, so she can talk to Mr. Clarke, aware of the look in his eyes. She leads him into the hallway to talk to him in private. 

“Thank you, for what you've done for that little girl. She told me you were looking for the bad guys, and I just want to thank you. I know this might sound weird, but I've never wanted to have kids before I met Grace. I was a foster kid until I was her age, until my parents adopted me, and I just want to do the same for her.”

“She deserves it. She's a wonderful little girl and she never deserved any of the things that happened to her.”

“Well thank you again. She'll be able to sleep better I'm guessing, knowing that those two are back in prison.” 

“It's my job. But I was more than happy to help in this case. I've got to go, but good luck at the game tonight. My son and I will be there watching.”

“Henry is your son? You look really young, I mean. God I'm so sorry, that was so rude!” Jefferson's face turns a shade of pink that immediately has Emma laughing. 

“It's okay. I had him when I was 16. I was kind of a bitch when I was a kid, and got in with the wrong crowd, and the wrong guy. But my parents love me very much, and when my ex left, they stuck by me. Like you said, I never wanted kids until Henry came along. The moment I held him, I just knew. It's a great thing you're doing for her.” 

“Thanks,” he replies shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Be sure to stick around after the game tonight, yeah? Some of us usually go out for food and you're more than welcome to join us. And I'm sure that Killian and Graham and August would love to know about Grace's foster parents being back in jail. They all really like her too. So, maybe we can be friends?” 

Emma smiles at the man, nodding. “Of course. And let me know how things are going with Grace, okay? I really hope you get the okay to adopt her.”

“Thanks. I should get back in there though. I've got to be leaving soon, can't miss team breakfast before the morning skate.”

“Of course. Can you just send Henry out?”

“Sure, it was nice meeting you Emma. I really do hope you join us. And bring Henry! A few of the others will be there with their kids.”

“I'll definitely think about it. It was really nice meeting you too Jefferson.”

Jefferson turns and retreats back into the room, and Henry pops out seconds later, his smile bright. “Hey mom! Can we go home now?”

“Of course kid. Or we could go get you some new clothes. You're growing like a weed. And then we can get you whatever you want for lunch and then go home. Sound like a plan?”

“Yeah! Can we go to Melt? And are we still going to the game tonight? Can I wear one of my new jerseys?” 

“The answer to all of those questions is yes. Now come on kid, let's go.” Emma puts one arm around her son's shoulders and leads him out of the hospital, and to the parking deck where her car sits. When they get in Henry begins rifling through his bag. “Henry, come on, buckle up so we can go,” she says, wondering what in the world he's looking for. She laughs when she watches him finally dig out one of the jerseys that was given to him by Killian Jones, and it doesn't surprise her at all when it's Humbert's jersey that he pulls on over his t-shirt. It looks to be a size too big for him, but it's adorable, and as soon as he's got it over his head he's buckling in and urging his mom to drive.

“So, you ready for the game tonight?” Emma asks, glancing over at her son as she stops at a red light. 

“Yes! I'm still kind of sad that I missed the opening game, but tonight will be good too! Do you think Killian or Graham or Jefferson or August will wave at me if I wave to them? Do you think they remember me? I mean, Jefferson will, I just saw him today but...”

“Henry,” Emma laughs, making a turn onto the main road. “Breathe kid. I'm sure they'll remember you. And guess what? Jefferson invited us out after the game to get dinner with them.”

“Mom we have to go! That's like, the coolest thing ever!” 

“Yeah, I thought you would say that. But, if we go, you have to promise you're going to clean your room this weekend, okay? It should have already been done, but you've got a valid excuse.” 

“Mom, if we go I promise I'll clean my room for a month without complaining!”

“You've got a deal. But you have to go to bed as soon as we get home tonight. It's going to be late, and you've got to start getting back on a regular sleep schedule. You've already missed a week of school and have to go back on Monday.”

“Ugh. Okay. I guess so. Wait until I tell my friends about this. They're never going to believe me.” 

“You can tell them Henry, but don't brag about it okay? You might hurt their feelings or upset them, and it's not polite. Alright?”

“Got it.”

“You're a good kid, Henry. I love you, and I'm glad you're feeling better now that you're out of the hospital. Don't scare me like that again though, okay?”

“I love you too mom.”

Emma hops on the expressway and Henry turns on the radio, switching it until he finds something he likes. By the time they get to Easton Town Centre Henry has managed to drive her nearly crazy, switching the radio station every other song, and she's relieved when they finally pull into the parking deck. She lets Henry lead the way, and he's exceptionally efficient, staring at the map for a few minutes when they first walk in and deciding where he wants to go, and in what order. Emma can't help but laugh at him a little, he hates shopping nearly as much as she does. It only takes them an hour and he's already picked out a new winter coat, tennis shoes, and some clothing. Emma decides to spoil him a little, and after they drop the rest of the bags in the car she asks him if he wants to go to the Lego Store, and the look on his face is worth every penny. 

By the time they are finished it's lunch time, and they head over to Melt, where Henry decides he's going to try something off the adult menu. He barely gets through half of it before he gives up, and Emma asks for boxes. As they wait for the waitress to return with the check and boxes Emma asks Henry where he would like to go on vacation. He is full of ideas, and by the time she's signed the check and they are out the door, Emma has a list of at least ten places Henry wants to go. They had back to their condo near the Short North and Emma crashes on the couch as soon as they walk in. 

“Mooooom, come on, we've got a vacation to plan!” Henry says impatiently, and Emma chuckles. 

“Henry, we can't go for at least another two months, until your Christmas vacation. So we've got time. I promise an hour long nap won't ruin our plans. I was up late last night catching bad guys, and was up early this morning. Not to mention we just ate the biggest meal ever. Aren't you tired, like at all?”

“Well...maybe a little,” Henry admits, curling up on the couch next to his mom. Emma rests her head on his and within minutes Henry is fast asleep and Emma laughs. He's probably been awake since 6am wanting to go home, so it's not a surprise to her that he's tired. She sets the alarm on her phone for an hour from now, and then grabs the blanket off the back of the couch and pulls it over them, more than willing to take advantage of Henry's impromptu nap.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to go ahead and apologize for taking so long to post this. Work and real life has been kicking my ass lately, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I also want to thank everyone for the kind words! I may not be able to respond to everyone, but I do read them all.

Killian Jones was ready. Ready to get on the ice, and ready to beat the living daylights out of Nashville. What Killian wasn't ready for was Emma Swan sitting next to her boy in their seats, wearing a jersey with his name on it and smiling at him. He nearly trips over his own skates, and Jefferson laughs as he passes by.

“What's wrong Jones,” he teases, and Killian scowls at him.

“Absolutely nothing, Clarke, now don't you have some skating to do?”

“Aw come on Jones, don't be that way.”

Killian ignores his teammates ribbing and lines up for the national anthem, and when the game starts he plays hard, and as the first period ends Killian is already feeling it. He's been throwing guys into the boards left and right, and as they leave the ice, Jefferson skates up behind him.

“Dude, what has gotten into you tonight? You're playing pretty cut throat.”

“I don't know, I'm just feeling pretty weird tonight.”

“Well dial it back buddy. You're going to end up in the penalty box all night if you keep it up, and you're the captain.” In an effort to change the topic, Jefferson starts talking about something else. “Did you see the boy that's here from the hospital? He's here with his mom. I met her at the hospital this morning. She's actually a bounty hunter, and she caught the two that put Grace in the hospital.”

Killian stopped for a moment, looking back over his shoulder. “Really?”

“Yeah. They're pretty cool. I invited them out with us for dinner after the game.”

Killian doesn't know how to respond to that, so he stays silent. After their truce at his place, he fully expected to never end up talking to her again. She might not hate him, but he imagines she certainly doesn't like him still, and is slightly concerned about how dinner would go, until he remembers what she is wearing. His jersey. Well shit. She must at trust him a little bit if she's ballsy enough to wear his number on her back after their encounter. She doesn't strike him as the type to keep someone's jersey if she hated them, let alone wear it out. He barely hears the coach as he talks about their plans for the second period, too busy chewing on the end of his thumb nervously. Bloody hell, this woman has got him tied up in knots, and he barely knows her at all.

  
Killian shakes his head and tries to pay attention to what the coach is talking about, and when they return to the ice Killian is feeling a little less scattered. He grins when he sees a popcorn vendor standing near the tunnel, and gets his attention. After speaking with the man, Killian hops onto the ice and skates along the boards, watching Emma until the man he spoke to walks up to her, handing her a small bag of popcorn. Her eyebrow furrows and he thinks it's adorable. When he gets back to where she's sitting with Henry he waves at them, and he sees the moment of clarity in her eyes, and her immediate scowl makes him laugh (and Henry too, he notices as he skates away).

  
During the second period Killian is feeling in better spirits, and although he's still playing hard, he isn't being as vicious. He is, however, intent on taking the puck from Nashville as many times as possible. Killian can feel their irritation radiating from their team as a whole, and he's extra vigilant after a few questionable hits from them. Out of the corner of his eye he spots a Predator coming straight at him, and considering he was directly in front of his bench he decides he may as well get some laughs in while he's at it.

  
The split second before the Predator goes to check him is enough time for Killian to 'accidentally' lose his footing and slide to the ice sideways along the boards, giving the Predator no target and sending the man headlong into the Jackets bench. Killian tried not to laugh, he really does. He scrambles to his feet to be met with the faces of his teammates, all cackling at the player who is still struggling to right himself. Killian snorts and reaches in, grabbing the man's hand, yanking him to his feet.

  
"Come on mate."

  
"You're really a piece of work Jones, you know that?"

  
His teammates give the man room to get to the door and he comes shooting back onto the ice, chirping at Killian the entire way, but Killian ignores him. Play is still moving, and Killian is immediately going after the puck again. This time he manages to wrestle it away, shooting off down the ice towards the goal. He spots Emma and Henry on their feet, off to the right of the goal, in the split second before he sends it straight past the goaltender. The cannon sounds and his teammates are surrounding him. He can see Henry, and the rest of the fans for that matter, jumping up and down and rattling the boards, and the sight makes him grin. 

The rest of the game goes off without a hitch, Jefferson scores twice, and even the rookie, Scarlett, gets his first goal, and Killian couldn't be happier for him. As the game winds to a close the fans are on their feet, and when the clock runs out they raise their sticks in salute, grateful for such passionate fans. They skate off the ice, and when they get to the locker rooms and start to cool down, Killian invites everyone out to eat at a nearby restaurant. About ten of them agree to go, the rest deciding to make it an early night. Killian doesn't mind, not everyone enjoys going out after they play. Once they are thoroughly cooled off and showered he meets everyone in the parking lot out back. He spots Jefferson talking to Emma, while her boy Henry sits on the stairs talking to Michael Tillman's two kids, Nick and Ava. When Jefferson notices him he waves, and Emma turns to look. He grins at her and waves as well and she turns a little pink.

  
"Hello love, fancy meeting you here."

  
"Yes, well I saw Jefferson at the hospital this morning and he invited me. I wasn't sure I was going to go, or if he even remembered, but he sent someone out after the game to get us," she said shyly, tucking a stray hair back behind her ear.

  
"Well I'm sure everyone will be pleased to meet you. I see Henry is getting along just fine. I'm glad he's no longer in the hospital. Although I'm going to have to have a serious talk with him about wearing that Humbert jersey. Honestly," he says, feigning offense. Emma laughs and Killian is quite sure its the best sound he's ever heard. Much better than her shouting at him. He tells her this and absolutely can not help the brilliant grin that lights up his face when she turns red and swats at him.

“Well, maybe I'll just get myself a Humbert jersey if you're going to be that way.”

Killian's eyes narrow at her and he tugs on her sleeve playfully. “Ah, but you look so much better in my shirt,” he quips, and Emma brushes her fingers against his, a weak attempt at dislodging them.

Jefferson snorts at that and they both turn towards him, having forgotten he was there, both blushing. “You two are ridiculous. Should I leave you two alone or are you going to join us for dinner?”

“Mmm. I suppose we should,” Killian murmurs, sending Emma a heated glance, which she pointedly ignores.

“Where are we going to eat?” Emma asks Jefferson, and he explains that they have a standing tradition of ordering food and going back to one of their places to hang out, eat, and unwind. Emma's eyes grow wide, she was not expecting that. Dinner she could handle, but hanging out with a bunch of famous hockey players, at their home? That was a whole other story. She is about to come up with an excuse to back out when Ruby came bursting out the door.

“Emma! Oh my god are you coming too?! How did you meet these idiots? God I've been trying to get you to go out with us for forever!”

Emma groans and knows there is no talking herself out of this one. Ruby will not hesitate to drag her back kicking and screaming now that she knows Emma has met her famous friends. Emma smiles weakly at Ruby and waves.

“Heeeey Rubes.”

Killian and Jefferson look between the two women, both with looks of utter bewilderment on their faces.

“Ruby, you know this lass?”

“Of course I do, you halfwits. Emma's my best friend. She's the one I told you guys about, the one that I tried to get to come hang out with us, but she was always busy.”

“Ugh Ruby come on, you know why I didn't want to.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say Emma. All I know is you're here now so obviously you changed your mind. Now, can we go get some food? These heels are fucking killing me.”

“AUNT RUBY, THAT'S FIVE BUCKS FOR THE CURSE JAR,” Henry shouts, and Emma snickers when she starts cursing under her breath about Henry's uncanny ability to listen to everything at once. Jefferson shakes his head and laughs at their PR person's potty mouth, and Ruby smacks him in the ass with her oversized bag.

“Alright come on you little shi-uh, I mean, oh for god's sake, let's just go get some food please? Who's place are we going to?”

Killian rubs the back of his neck and raises his hand. “I believe it's my turn to host. Is this everyone?”

A wave of affirming answers rises and they head to their cars, but Emma falters for a moment. “Uh, Ruby, could we ride with you? Henry and I just hopped on the bus earlier so we didn't drive.”

“Shit, I'm sorry Ems, I drove the convertible, and it's only got two seats. I can take you, and Henry could ride with the Tillman's?” Ruby suggests, but Emma shakes her head.

“No offense to any of you, but I don't really know you well enough to leave my kid with you yet.”

Before another suggestion can be made, Henry is begging to ride with Ruby; he loves riding in her flashy little two seater, and Emma knows it. She rubs at her face in annoyance, but agrees, hating to deny her kid anything. At this, Killian offers his assistance by asking her if she would be opposed to driving with him. Emma looks at Ruby a little wearily, but finally agrees. She hugs Henry before following Killian. He escorts her to the parking lot, his hand suddenly gravitating towards the center of her back, guiding her gently towards his car. She tries to ignore the sudden warmth that it brings, even as he opens her door for her and helps her into his SUV.

She is slightly mortified when he shuts it once shes in. No one has ever done that for her before in her life, and the first time it happens, it's some famous hockey star? What the hell is going on right now, she thinks to herself, before she's interrupted.

“You're awfully quiet,” Killian says hesitantly.

Emma sneaks a glance at him, and is caught off guard when she finds him looking at her intently. “Er, sorry. I just, I'm a little out of my league here. I don't really know how to handle this situation.”

“What situation,” he asks, genuinely confused.

“The fact that I'm sitting beside one of the best hockey players in the league, who is opening doors for me and driving me around instead of the other way around?”

“It's called being a gentleman, love, surely that is not out of the ordinary?”

“No one has ever bothered doing that for me before, so yeah, for me it is out of the ordinary,” Emma protests, and the look of distaste on Killian's face is apparent.

“Well that's their loss then. Every woman deserves to be treated properly. Just because I happen to be good at a sport doesn't mean I have the right to ignore those that are less fortunate...”

“Less fortunate?! That's what you think? That's why you're giving me the time of day?” Emma screeches, and Killian blanches at his poor choice of words.

“Oh bugger. That's not how I...”

“I'm going home. That's it. You can tell Ruby to bring my son home,” Emma says fiercely, struggling with her seatbelt.

“Swan, listen to me, please,” he argues, and Emma ignores him. Killian panics and hits the lock button every time she tries to wrench open the door, which only serves to rile her up further.

“Killian Jones you let me out of this car this instant or I swear to god!”

“Will you just bloody well listen for one damned moment woman?!” he shouts losing his temper now too, and Emma is instantly quiet, staring out the window and refusing to look at him.

“What, Jones. What could you possibly say to make this less fortunate person feel any better?” she says, the venom in her voice so apparent that it has Killian recoiling, racking his brain for the right words.

“I apologize for shouting, but Emma, please. I barely know you lass, but I can see that you work hard to give your son a good life. I didn't mean to imply that you are anything less than brilliant, I just meant that for me, I get to play a sport that I've loved since I was young and just happen to be good at, and I make a lot of money doing it. Far more money than I deserve for merely getting on the ice and swatting around a piece of plastic with a stick. I did not mean to belittle you in any way lass. I know that you work hard. All I meant was that I was the fortunate one, for not having to work nearly as hard as many of the people in the world do to provide for themselves. I admire you Emma, even if I barely know you. I know you are a force to be reckoned with, the way that you defend those you love. You didn't hesitate to come confront me when you thought I was trying to get to you through your son. I...oh buggering hell. I didn't mean to offend you. I hope you can understand that. I'll take you home if you'd like.”

Emma is silent for a minute, but finally looks from the window over at Killian, who is running his hands through his hair. It's sticking up in every direction, making him look even more distressed, and Emma relents a little. He does truly look upset with himself, and Emma decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just this once.

“I'm sorry, Killian. I've been on my own for a long time. So when people try to do things for me I always assume there is another motive. You're not a bad guy, I just have a hard time believing that someone like you could be nice to someone like me. Sorry.”

Killian looks at her intently, unnerving her a bit, before he actually speaks. “Well, if you're willing, I'd be happy to prove you wrong. Just because I happen to be famous doesn't mean that I don't want to treat others the way that they deserve, love.”

Emma stares at him, baffled. She tries to say no, really she does. But what comes out of her mouth instead surprises both of them.

“Can we just start by going to get food with your teammates and Ruby? I'm starving.”

Killian is smiling brilliantly when he puts the vehicle in drive. “Of course love.”

“Oh, and Killian?”

“Hmm?”

“If you ever try to lock me in the car again when I want to leave I will not hesitate to punch you in the face.”

“Noted,” Killian says, trying not to laugh. He doesn't doubt that she would, and the thought of her taking down a full grown man that plays hockey for a living is amusing (and slightly terrifying) to him. Nevertheless he doesn't say a word, knowing better than to push her. He pulls out of the parking lot and onto the street and heads in the direction of the restaurant, flipping the radio on and turning it down, just so that the car isn't so quiet. He drums his fingers on the steering wheel, singing along to the music, and catches Emma staring at him out of the corner of his eye. “Problem?” he questions, and Emma's face turns pink, and she turns towards the window again. “Oh come now, don't be that way. There really is no need to hold back on my account.”

“I don't know. I just thought that you would have something snarky to say to me.”

“No, I have no doubts that you would gladly punch me in the face if tried that again. And I shouldn't have done it to begin with, it was out of line. No one should be held against their will. I just...I panicked. I didn't want you to get out and hate me without at least an explanation.”

“You know, I don't understand how the media makes you out to be such an asshole, because you really aren't, unfortunately. If you were I might actually have a reason to hate you.”

Killian looks over at Emma when they are stopped at a red light, and she is actually smiling at him, and he can't help it. He laughs, and by the time that they pull into the parking lot of the restaurant the two are talking quietly, mostly about Ruby and Jefferson, who they both know, and who are both coming to hang out. Killian assures Emma that Jefferson is absolutely serious about adopting Grace, and that he's already got a lawyer working on it, and has talked to his parents as well, setting up a secondary form of care when he is away at games.

Emma knew that Jefferson was enamored with the little girl, but figured that he would soon forget about her. Obviously she is very very wrong, and honestly, she's glad. Grace is a wonderful little girl, and she's gotten to know her while she was working on catching her former foster parents. Grace deserves everything that Jefferson can give her, and knowing that his teammates support his decision makes her feel a little fuzzy inside. She makes a note to herself that she should get Jefferson's number, just in case he does end up adopting her, so Emma can check in on her from time to time. Killian leads them to his little group of teammates, and Ruby is there with Henry, who is bouncing around talking to everyone like Christmas has come early. She looks at Ruby questioningly, but Ruby just shrugs, and Emma snorts, but lets him continue. No one seems to be bothered by the boy, and they are the only ones in the place right now.

Emma goes to order food for Henry and herself, but when she tries to pay she finds that it is already being paid for. She whips her head around to glare at Killian, but he is tossing one of Tillman's children up in the air and laughing, and so she stuffs the twenty dollar bill in the tip jar instead, a bit indignantly. When the food finally arrives the group departs, promising to meet at the building Killian lives in. When Emma and Killian get back to his SUV, Emma tosses a fry out of her bag at him.

“What was that for?” Killian asks, grabbing a fry out of his own bag and launching it back at her.

“That was for being a sneaky little shit and paying for our food. I am perfectly capable of buying my own dinner.”

“Well you've got the wrong man love, I didn't pay. Jefferson paid for everyone. We usually takes turns paying, so get used to it.” Emma stops and looks at him, and doesn't sense that he's lying. She throws another fry at him anyways, just for good measure, and Killian laughs, loudly. “You are wasting perfectly good french fries on a crime I did not commit. Now come on lass, or everyone is going to beat us back to my place. And I'm starving.”

Emma grumbles under her breath but gets in the car anyways, and Killian is nearly cackling at her intense look of displeasure. When they pull into the garage for his building soon after, the group is already waiting, having wasted no time getting over there. They all crowd into one elevator and ride up to the 20th floor where his apartment is. As soon as the door is unlocked the group is piling in, and finding their own spot to settle into. It's clear that this is routine, because everyone seems to know exactly where to go, except Emma, who stands uncomfortably near the couch, remembering the last time she was here. She's pulled from her thoughts by Killian's hand at her elbow.

“Here, sit on the couch with me and eat, Emma. You don't have to stand.”

“I...sorry. I was just thinking about last time I was here.”

“Hey, don't worry about it. It was a misunderstanding. Now relax. Eat. Have fun. Honestly, it's not a big deal Emma.”

Emma smiles gratefully at him and opens her food. She's a lot hungrier than she thought, and she happily digs in. She looks over at Killian, who's seated crosslegged on his couch, food in his lap, and swipes an onion ring from his box, popping it in her mouth before he can protest. His eyes narrow and she throws another fry at him, hitting him square in the face this time, laughing when he looks stunned.

“You little minx! You better watch it. I will get my revenge love,” he taunts, and Emma sticks her tongue out at him as Henry comes running past.

“Mom! Can Nick and Ava come over tomorrow? Pleeeeease?”

“Have you asked their parents?”

“Not yet...but I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first! Please mom!”

“Ask their parents. As long as it's okay with them I don't care if they come over.”

Henry pounces on Emma, hugging her tightly before running off, presumably to find the Tillman's. Killian laughs at the boy's exuberance. “He is a lively lad, isn't he?”

“Absolutely. But I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.”

“I admire that. You must have been young when Henry was born. I don't think I would have been able to do it if I were in your position.”

“I was 16 when I had Henry. And like I told Jefferson this morning, I didn't think I could be a parent either until I held Henry. It's one of the reasons I'm so protective of him, and why I got so angry with you the first time I was here. My parents helped me a lot. I never would have been able to do it if it weren't for them.”

“Well he's lucky to have you love,” Killian says, his fingers lingering near her own. “Anyone would be lucky to have you, and you don't have to apologize for doing what you thought was right,” he adds quietly. She sucks her breath in when his fingers finally brush gently against her own, but doesn't deny him. His thumb is caressing the back of her hand when he finally speaks again. “Emma, would you ever think about possibly going on a date with me? I mean, I know we've really only met, but I would have to kick myself if I didn't at least try.”

Emma stares at him, stunned that he would even bother, after the things she said to him. She suddenly realizes how her silence must look to him when he begins nervously scratching behind his ear, apologizing for making her feel uncomfortable, but she ignores him, grabbing his hand that he begins to pull from hers, and squeezing his fingers in hers.

“I'd love to Killian,” she says with a smile only for him, and Killian looks shocked, but quickly recovers, grinning for ear to ear.

“Really? I thought for sure that maybe that popcorn tonight was what pushed you over the edge and...”

“I knew that was you! Dammit Jones. Henry teased me for an hour about that!”

He laughs, bright and loud and Emma catches Ruby staring at them out of the corner of her eye. She makes a mental note to herself to pinch Ruby if she even says a single word, but directs her attention back to Killian, who is rambling on about what she would like to do for a date. When he suggests taking Emma and Henry to the Columbus Zoo Emma could kiss him right there for thinking of including her son. She peeks over her shoulder and notices Henry is engrossed in a game with his two new friends, so Emma turns back around, leaning forward and kissing Killian on the cheek.

“I'd love that Killian. The zoo sounds wonderful, and Henry and I both love going there.”

“Excellent. Now, we are going out of town for the next few days, so would next weekend work? I'm sure the lad has school, so the weekend will probably be the only time we can.”

“That's perfect. Should we just meet there?”

“Nonsense. I'll pick you and the lad up. No point in paying for parking twice when we're going the same place.”

“That's true I guess.”

“Could I have your number love, that way we can plan it in a bit more detail?”

Emma blushes but swipes his phone from him and adds her number to his contacts before giving it back to him. As soon as he gets it backs he's sending her a text, and she adds him to her own phone. They talk for at least another twenty minutes before Emma realizes how late it is, and turns to find Henry to tell him it's time to go home, only to realize that the kid has passed out cold on a small couch with one of the Tillman children. She snorts and Killian cranes his head around to see what's going on and laughs.

“Yeah that tends to happen nearly every time. Do you want me to drive you home so you don't have to take him on the bus?”

“You don't have to do that, I can just wake him up. It's not a big deal.”

“Honestly love, it's not a problem. Everyone will be leaving soon anyways, and I don't mind.” Emma chews on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating her choices. She should just wake Henry up and take the bus or call an Uber, but instead she just nods her head and Killian grins at her. “Excellent, let's boot everyone out then and we will get going.”

Emma laughs as Killian tells everyone it's time for them to leave, as he has important business to attend to, and she catches Ruby rolling her eyes as she walks out the door. When the last person has walked out Killian grabs his keys from their spot on the kitchen counter and asks Emma if she would care if he just carried Henry downstairs. Emma agrees and Killian hefts Henry up onto his shoulder, and the boy doesn't even register that he has changed positions and is now moving, causing Killian to laugh.

“Does the lad sleep this well all of the time?”

“Pretty much. He hates getting up. It's actually kind of disturbing how well he sleeps. Once I accidentally sat on him because I didn't realize he fell asleep on the couch and he didn't wake up,” she says, her cheeks coloring a violent pink. “Thank you for doing this Killian. You really didn't have to.”

Killian laughs and hikes him higher on his shoulder. “Emma, like I said, it's not a problem. Now, let's get him to the car.” They get to his car and Killian gently straps the boy into the backseat before opening Emma's door for her as well. Once they are both in the car he makes his way to the driver's seat and hops in. “Alright lovely, where to?”

“Oh, we just live in the Short North, so not far. I really do...”

“Emma, love, if you say thank you one more time I swear I'm going to pull over and drop you off on the side of the road.”

Emma snorts and covers her mouth, trying her damnedest not to start giggling. “Okay, okay. Sorry. I'll just scowl and tell you to go to hell. Is that more acceptable?”

Killian laughs, loudly, and takes her hand in his, kissing the back of it, grinning when her face turns pink again. “Better get used to it. I plan on doing lots of this. And I hope you'll let me.”

Emma looks at Killian, amazed at how sincere he is. She doesn't detect a single tone of deceit in his voice and believes him, and moreover, she wants to believe him. She wants to believe that someone may care for her, with no ulterior motives. She wants that more than anything. So she lets her head drop against his shoulder, squeezing his fingers in hers. “I think I can handle that,” she says quietly, and Killian grins to himself.

When they arrive at her condo Emma shows him where to go and Killian pulls in, putting it in park. Once they are inside she shows him where Henry's room is and Emma watches as Killian settles him on the bed, pulling up the blanket around him. Seeing the way that he interacts with Henry makes her heart soar, because she knows if Henry didn't approve, or Killian had shown an ounce of hesitation when it came to Henry, things would never work between them. Closing the door softly after them, she turns to face Killian, who is suddenly much closer than before. He is an overwhelming force in her small hallway, taking up all of the space and air, and Emma has never felt more alive than when Killian steps closer, sliding one hand into her hair and the other around her waist. He looks to her for confirmation that it's okay, and she grasps the front of his shirt in her fists, pulling him in and kissing him before she can give herself the chance to overthink it.

Emma gasps as Killian bites her lower lip, dragging it out until it releases gently, before taking a small step back. He rests his forehead on her own, staring at her intently.

“I should go Emma.”

“Mmmm. Yeah. I guess so,” she mutters. They stand there staring at each other before Emma is surging forward and kissing him again. Emma whimpers as Killian crowds her against the wall, pressing his hips into hers.

“God woman, I've wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you,” he says, kissing her sweetly. “But we should wait. I don't want to rush this. As much as I would love,” he pauses, dragging his lips over her jaw, and his thumb down her throat, “to continue this, I'm not planning on going anywhere. We have all the time in the world.”

Emma groans and lets her head drop against his solid chest. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Plus we can't exactly do this right outside Henry's room. Why do you have to be such a gentleman?” she asks, swatting him in the chest. Killian chuckles and slips his fingers through hers, squeezing them tightly.

“Because you deserve it. And because I don't want to fuck things up with you before we have a proper date.”

“I'm really glad you suggested the zoo. And that you invited Henry. Most guys are put off by the prospect of dating someone with a kid.”

“Love, I'm in charge of a bunch of overgrown children wielding sticks every day. I think I can handle an actual child.”

Emma laughs and snakes her arms around his waist. “Thank you Killian. Text me while you're gone? Henry and I will be watching the games on tv.”

“If you think I won't be calling or texting to bother you everyday you're delusional. I've got your number now, and I plan on putting it to good use.”

Emma laughs at the goofy look on Killian's face and drags him back to the living room. “Alright you nerd, you should go. I'm sure you've got a morning skate tomorrow, and I refuse to be blamed for you not being at one hundred percent.”

“If you insist, I guess I'll go. I'll see you next weekend then? Unfortunately I doubt we'll have any time before then.”

“Yeah, of course. Are you sure you'll be able to get away the whole day?”

“Don't worry about it. We've got a home game Friday night and then we're off Saturday and Sunday, and then have a home game Monday, so Coach almost always gives us a day off when that happens. Unless we're playing extraordinarily badly. In which case we have extra practices,” he says with a scowl. Emma snorts at the pure look of displeasure adorning his face, no doubt remembering one of those practices. “But, I don't plan on letting us play that badly, so there is no reason we shouldn't have the day off Saturday.”

“Well good. I'm really looking forward to it. Just in case though, I'm going to wait until you know for sure before I tell Henry. I don't want to disappoint him if it doesn't happen.”

“I understand Emma. But even if we end up not being able to go, I can still take the two of you out for lunch at least. I'd really just like to spend time with you, I don't care how.”

Emma can't help the grin that graces her face as she pushes him towards the door. “I don't care how either, but I do hope we can go to the zoo. Now go. Before you get Ruby on me when you're late tomorrow. I'll never hear the end of it.”

Killian starts to leave but turns at the last moment, stealing another kiss from Emma before scurrying out the door before she has time to protest, causing her to laugh as she stands at her door and watches him go. Emma shuts the door and grabs her phone out of her pocket, and noticing that she has seven missed texts from Ruby, she calls her best friend.

“Ruby, I am in so much trouble...” she mutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder: If you see any heinous grammar errors, please don't hesitate to let me know. I don't have a beta, so any errors are my own, and I try to fix them if I can. That being said, comments and kudos are A++ so leave me some?


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